D. Moonfire was suggested to me when I was looking for a fantasy author to add to our workshop. I don't usually seek out fantasy books for my personal reading, although I'm not sure why. I grew up on the Oz books and read all 36 and have enjoyed the Hunger Games series and Harry Potter more recently. I chose Moonfire's Sand and Blood,the first book of a trilogy, to get a taste of his work.

Rutejimo, the main character, is a teenage boy who embodies some of the worst characteristics of growing up. He dreams big and yearns to be addressed as 'Great Shimusogo' like his older brother, but not badly enough to work at it. He is clumsy, disloyal, and disobedient to his elders. He thinks he knows better. He wants to be a hero without getting out of his comfort zone. Didn't we all?

Sand and Blood is the story of his testing--being left in the desert with four other teens to survive and make his own way or perish. His companions--two bullies, a weakling, and a girl who is superior to them all in experience and power--all have their own agendas and Rutejimo must learn courage, compromise, and thinking out of the box.

Moonfire does an excellent job of world building and immersing the reader in the Shimusogo culture through the other characters, action, and dialogue without too much backstory. There are plenty of cliff-hangers--some literally--to make this a fast and enjoyable read.

D. Moonfire is the remarkable intersection of a computer nerd and a scientist. He inherited a desire for learning, endless curiosity, and a talent for being a polymath from both of his parents. Instead of focusing on a single genre, he writes stories and novels in many different settings ranging from fantasy to science fiction. He also throws in the occasional romance or forensics murder mystery to mix things up.